The objective of this program is to expand and strengthen the capabilities of Florida A&M University (FAMU) investigators in biomedical research, to provide undergraduate students with "hands- on" experience in the fundamentals of scientific research and to motivate them to pursue biomedical research careers as well as to train graduate students in state of the art research in the biomedical sciences with concentration in pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and toxicology. The proposed research program will involve studies using laboratory animals. The subprojects have the following specific aims: (1) Drug polymorphism observations among ethnic populations in Florida: (2) Electro-oxidation studies of pyrimidine nucleosides: (3) 31- P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study of human lung carcinoma; (4) investigation of muscle protein synthesis, induced by thyroid hormone; (5) selenium induced hyperglycemia studies: (6) Synthetic goals for colchicine and taxol analogs as probes of tubulin; (7) Preparation of uracil derivatives as anticancer agents; (8) synthesis and biological activity determinations of some N- aminotetrahydropyridines; (9) Use of MNR for detection and monitoring of lung cancer; (10) Investigation of the derivatives of corticosteroid metabolites; (11) Calcitonin control of calcium metabolism during weightlessness; and (12) studies of the neurochemical basis of the beneficial effects of chronobiotic drugs. Analytical procedures including spectral determinations (e.g . ultraviolet, infrared, proton NMR, 31-P NMR atomic absorption), chromatographic work (e.g., TLC, GC, HPLC) and many pharmacological assays using scintillation counters will be routinely conducted in these investigations. Both the graduate and undergraduate students will be involved in the planning and execution of the experiments.